Reviews

Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation by Cheng Jingbo, Gu Shi, Zhang Ran, Xia Jia, Ma Boyong, Anna Wu, Mingwei Song, Regina Kanyu Wang, Baoshu, Chen Qiufan, Han Song, Hao Jingfang, Tang Fei, Cixin Liu, Fei Dao

pluto_kat's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

rain_97's review against another edition

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fast-paced
I liked the short stories : “Goodnight Melancholy”, “Reflection” , and “The Brain Box”. 

grainneog44's review against another edition

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funny informative mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

vasco's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

clairewilsonleeds's review against another edition

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5.0

A couple of duds in the middle, but this was a great read.

nkz21752's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.25

dsollick's review against another edition

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3.0

This one is hard to rate as a collection of short stories. There are a few 5⭐ stories and a few 2⭐s with most in the middle. There were a handful I skipped partway through.

Translation is great, and I'd give Ken's other short story collection another shot, but I'm definitely warier. I wish I could give 3.5.

catcouch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

sailor_marmar's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

meimayy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Favourite stories:
  • Moonlight by Liu Cixin - a rollercoaster of a read
  • Submarines by Han Song - a dystopian story of the others living modern big cities
  • The New Year Train by Hao Jingfang - an experimental train disappears with people on board
  • The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Laba Porridge by Anna Wu - for those of us who like character driven stories
  • The First Emperor's Games by Ma Boyong - ancient China meets computer games and hilarity ensues!
  • The Brain Box by Regina Kanyu Wang - an intriguing premise